►
From YouTube: Bloomington Today: April 18, 2012
Description
This week's episode of Bloomington Today is all about road construction. We'll highlight two significant projects impacting Bloomington and show an informational video by MnDOT about navigating roundabouts.
A
B
Welcome
to
bloomington
today,
I'm
caitlin
cockriel
thanks
for
joining
us
at
the
recent
state
of
the
city
address
future
construction
plans
for
one
key
interchange
along
the
I-494
corridor
were
unveiled.
This
intersection
at
34th
avenue
and
I-494
will
look
drastically
different
in
the
coming
years.
The
city
has
partnered,
with
the
metropolitan
airport's
commission
to
turn
this
south
loop
district
junction
into
a
diverging
diamond
interchange.
C
One
of
the
key
conditions
at
34th
and
494
is
the
high
number
of
left
turns
getting
on
to
from
the
arterial
street
getting
on
to
the
regional
facilities.
The
freeways
they're
494.,
there's
a
very
high
number
of
left
turns
left
turns
are
something
that's
always
a
struggle
to
deal
with
at
interchanges.
Like
that,
the
reason
a
diverging
diamond
interchange
works.
There
is
because,
as
it
as
it
switches
traffic
to
the
left
side
of
the
road,
it
then
enables
those
cars
those
drivers
to
go
ahead
and
make
a
free
left
onto
the
freeway
facilities.
C
One
of
the
reasons
that
the
diverging
diamond
interchange
works.
Well,
there
is
because
it
allows
us
to
improve
capacity
to
maintain
vehicle
capacity
into
the
future
and
the
the
cost
savings
are
substantial
because
we
don't
have
to
rebuild
the
bridge
deck
for
the
494
traffic
bridge.
Decks
are
generally
one
of
the
most
expensive
components
of
a
roadway,
and
so,
if
you
can
use
your
existing
bridges
into
the
future
you're
going
to
save
the
taxpayers
a
lot
of
money.
C
B
This
project
is
in
early
design
stages
right
now.
The
target
date
for
construction
is
to
begin
in
early
2013
and
is
expected
to
take
one
year
and
continuing
on
with
construction
news
in
and
around
bloomington.
Let's
check
in
on
the
169
I-494
interchange
reconstruction
april
has
been
a
busy
month
for
mndot
crews.
Southbound
169
motorists
are
now
being
routed
to
the
northbound
side
of
169,
as
reconstruction
has
now
begun
on
the
southbound
lanes,
the
flyover
ramps
are
taking
shape
and
now
stretch
alongside
494.
B
B
The
light
may
remain
in
operation
until
this
fall.
The
ring
road
frontage
system
is
also
seeing
significant
progress
with
two
out
of
six
roundabouts
operational
to
motorists.
Construction
on
the
final
four
is
expected
to
begin
soon
and
with
more
and
more
roundabouts
opening
to
motorists
in
and
around
the
169
I-494
interchange.
B
D
Mndot,
have
you
driven
in
one
of
these
modern
roundabouts?
Yet
since
the
early
1990s,
more
and
more
of
them
have
been
built
by
communities
across
the
us,
and
today,
after
reviewing
research
and
considering
all
options,
local
and
state
officials
in
minnesota
are
choosing
modern
roundabouts
too
they're
doing
that,
because
in
many
situations
modern
roundabouts
make
pretty
good
sense
because
roundabouts
don't
have
stop
signs
or
stop
lights,
they
reduce
delays
and
harmful
exhaust
emissions.
D
But
the
more
important
thing
is
that
modern
roundabouts
are
often
safer
than
other
intersections
because
of
the
way
they're
designed
before
we
get
into
details.
I
think
I
should
define
the
term
modern.
Roundabout
refers
to
this
type
of
intersection
where
drivers
enter
go
counter-clockwise
around
a
center
island
and
choose
an
exit.
D
There's
one
other
thing:
a
modern
roundabout
isn't
maybe
you've
heard
about
those
old
traffic
circles
and
rotaries,
as
they
were
called
here's
some
pictures
of
the
very
first
one
designed
for
motorized
vehicles.
It
was
built
in
1904
around
columbus
circle
in
new
york
city,
and
maybe
you've
heard
negative
comments
about
those
old
traffic
circles
and
rotaries.
D
Well,
the
truth
is
they
earned
their
bad
press
because
of
how
they
worked.
Some
of
them
had
stop
lights
at
the
entries
and
in
the
circles,
and
some
sent
traffic
and
pedestrians
right
across
the
center
of
the
circle.
All
of
this
delayed
traffic
and
led
to
crashes,
but
the
biggest
problem
was
that
entering
vehicles
had
the
right-of-way
with
heavy
traffic
that
could
bring
the
entire
traffic
circle
to
a
standstill.
D
Well,
that
was
then
today
engineers
have
learned
how
to
avoid
those
old
problems
and
how
to
keep
the
traffic
moving
safely.
They've
also
discovered
that
roundabouts
can
be
a
good
alternative.
One
big
reason
for
the
move
to
modern
roundabouts
is
that
they're
much
safer
than
traditional
intersections,
who
says
so
well.
The
insurance
institute
for
highway
safety
for
one
they're,
a
research
organization
that
issues
safety
ratings
for
cars,
they've
conducted
research
on
roundabouts,
too.
They
looked
at
23,
traditional
intersections
that
were
converted
to
single
lane
roundabouts.
D
What
they
found
is
interesting:
conversion
to
roundabouts,
reduced
all
crashes
by
about
40
reduced
crashes
that
cause
injuries
by
about
75
and
eliminated
fatalities.
Almost
entirely,
are
you
impressed,
or
are
you
skeptical
if
you're
unsure
bear
with
me
for
a
few
minutes?
I
think
I
can
show
you
that
modern
roundabouts
are
often
the
right
solution.
D
One
step
engineers
have
taken
in
designing
modern
roundabouts
is
to
reduce
the
size
of
the
circle,
but
the
most
significant
change
was
to
have
vehicles
entering
the
roundabout
yield
to
traffic
already
in
the
circle.
This
is
done
with
yield
signs
at
the
entrances
rather
than
stop
signs
or
lights.
These
changes
help
to
keep
traffic
moving
at
a
safe
and
efficient
speed.
How
efficient,
well
those
researchers
at
the
insurance
institute
for
highway
safety
studied
10
traditional
intersections.
D
D
D
The
same
study
by
the
insurance
institute
for
highway
safety,
estimated
that
if
those
10
intersections
were
converted
to
roundabouts
fuel
consumption,
would
be
reduced
by
about
235,
000
gallons
a
year.
I
think
you'll
agree
that
we
would
all
benefit
from
that,
but
the
biggest
advantage
of
roundabouts
is
that
they're
much
safer,
as
we
saw
earlier,
40
fewer
crashes,
75,
fewer
crashes
with
injuries
and
almost
no
fatalities.
D
Why?
Well,
sadly,
it's
because
at
traditional
crossroads
intersections,
we
see
t-bone
and
head-on
collisions
and
they're
the
ones
that
tend
to
be
serious
but
t-bone
and
head-on.
Collisions
are
just
about
eliminated
at
modern
roundabouts,
because
all
traffic
is
moving
in
the
same
direction
and
at
slower
speeds.
That
means
any
collisions
that
do
occur
tend
to
be
side,
swipes
or
other
glancing
blows,
which
rarely
cause
injuries.
D
D
Second,
research
has
shown
that
more
than
half
of
all
crashes
involving
pedestrians
also
involve
left
turns,
but
there
are
no
left
turns
in
a
roundabout
to
go
left.
You
actually
make
a
right
to
enter
the
circle
and
a
right
to
exit,
also
notice
that
when
modern
roundabouts
have
crosswalks,
the
crosswalks
are
farther
back
than
in
traditional
intersections,
because
pedestrians
are
set
back
from
the
circle.
Drivers
can
react
to
the
pedestrians
first
and
then
deal
with
the
traffic.
Compare
that
with
traditional
intersections,
where
drivers
have
to
deal
with
everything
at
once.
D
The
islands
between
the
lanes
in
the
approach
to
a
roundabout
also
contribute
to
safety,
since
pedestrians
only
have
to
cross
traffic
one
direction
at
a
time
notice
that
the
entries
to
the
roundabouts
are
slightly
curved
and
that
the
circle
has
a
relatively
small
diameter.
These
features
naturally
slow
traffic,
usually
to
about
15
to
20
miles
per
hour.
That
has
a
couple
of
advantages.
First,
it
tends
to
reduce
the
force
of
any
collisions
that
do
occur,
so
there
are
fewer
injuries.
D
E
First
impression
was
what
is
a
roundabout
and
then
my
second
concern
that
we
had
was:
were
we
able
to
get
our
emergency
vehicles
around
the
roundabout,
so
we
decided
then
to
bring
one
of
our
largest
fire
trucks,
which
is
a
90-foot
aerial
platform
down
there
and
drive
around
it
in
which
we
did,
and
it
worked
just
fine.
It's
really
important
that
your
people
are
comfortable
with
it
and
understand
how
well
it
does.
D
Work
research
shows
that
members
of
the
general
public
tend
to
react.
The
same
way
once
they've
driven
around
about
a
few
times.
Most
people
like
it
and
driving
roundabouts
is
actually
pretty
easy
to
get
used
to.
You
just
need
to
follow
a
few
simple
rules.
As
you
approach,
a
modern
roundabout
you'll
see
a
roundabout
ahead
sign.
D
As
with
any
other
intersection,
you
should
watch
for
pedestrians
and
stop
for
them.
The
most
basic
rule
in
roundabouts
is
the
idea
of
yielding
the
traffic
already
in
the
roundabout.
Has
the
right-of-way
and
the
entering
traffic
must
yield.
So,
as
you
approach
be
sure,
to
look
left,
most
roundabouts
have
signs
in
the
center
island
guiding
you
in
a
counterclockwise
direction
when
an
opening
appears
and
it's
safe
to
proceed
enter
the
roundabout
once
you're
in
the
roundabout,
keep
your
place
in
line.
Don't
pass.
D
If
you're
in
a
roundabout,
when
an
emergency
vehicle
approaches,
don't
stop
in
the
roundabout
drive
out
of
the
circle
and
then
pull
over.
Did
you
notice
the
raised
apron
in
the
middle
of
the
roundabout?
Some
people
see
tire
marks
there
and
think
the
roundabout
wasn't
built
big
enough
to
handle
large
vehicles,
but
that's
not
the
case.
The
apron
is
there
just
for
the
trucks
and
other
large
vehicles.
It
gives
them
the
extra
room
they
need,
but
the
raised
pavement
discourages
use
by
cars.
D
What
we've
seen
so
far
is
a
single
lane,
roundabout,
with
some
roundabouts
fed
by
heavier
volume,
roads
have
more
than
one
land
both
on
the
approach
and
in
the
circle
itself.
The
rules
we
just
covered
for
single
led
roundabouts
still
apply.
However,
in
a
multi-lane
roundabout,
just
as
with
any
multi-lane
intersection,
you
also
need
to
choose
a
lane,
as
you
approach,
depending
on
where
you
want
to
go,
typically
use
the
right
lane
for
a
right
turn
or
to
go
straight
ahead.
D
D
As
we've
seen
here,
modern
roundabouts
are
an
option
being
considered
by
public
officials
for
designing
intersections
in
many
situations,
roundabouts
have
big
advantages.
They
save
time
they
save
fuel
they're
better
for
the
environment,
they
save
lives
by
reducing
crashes
and
when
most
people
try
them
they
like
them.
That's
why
modern
roundabouts
are
being
built
all
around
minnesota.
D
B
And
that's
all
the
time
we
have
for
today
to
get
more
information
on
city
projects,
parks,
road
construction
and
events
visit.
The
city's
website
to
check
out
past
bloomington
today
shows
or
other
city
productions
visit,
bloomington's
youtube,
channel,
accessible
right
from
the
city's
homepage.
That
and
so
much
more
is
online
right
now,
at.